Millions of business correspondence forms are utilized in commerce and the like, such as billing invoices, delivery notifications, and the like. At the present time, multi-sheet business forms, separated by carbon paper or other duplicating means, are sold by manufacturers and delivered to the users. The forms are removed from their shipping container and inserted in a typewriter which may be operated by a computer. The billing information or the like may be fed into a computer system which operates the typewriter, to place the desired billing information on the forms. Each form may differ in its information, in that the typewriter will insert a different customer with a different address, and a different billing amount for each form.
In the above prior art system, it is necessary for the forms to carry severable, lateral side strips having holes into which the pins of a form feeding sprocket fit, so that there is precise control of the position of the data entered onto the various layers of the business form, which is typically pre-printed. The pre-printed portions must of course be in precise registration with the material which is added by the computerized typewriter.
After the desired information has been entered by the computerized typewriter, the forms are manually severed from each other, and the side strips with holes are removed. The forms may then be placed in an envelope.
An example of such a prior art process is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,652,007.
The amount of paper in the side strips generally constitutes approximately 10 percent of the entire paper used in the forms, and thus constitutes a significant waste of paper, since the side strips are discarded.
Furthermore, a considerable amount of manual labor is necessary to remove the forms from the typewriter, to separate the forms and insert them into envelopes, and the like. Additionally, a significant amount of waste and delay is encountered by the simple step of shipping the blank business forms to the processor, involving the added expense of packaging materials and shipping expenses.
In accordance with this invention, a complete process is provided for the production of message-containing envelopes in which the message may differ, beginning not with finished forms, but with raw paper strip or webbing, which may be conveniently provided in a large roll for continuous operation. The lateral, removable, perforated portions for alignment are unnecessary, resulting in a substantial savings in paper. Also, the shipping of blank business forms to various recipients, can be eliminated.
The end product of the process of this invention constitutes addressed bill envelopes or the like, ready for mailing, having been produced in an automated manner from raw paper strip.
Also, various novel envelope configurations made from a single paper strip are disclosed, which are particularly useful in themselves, and can be desirably utilized in conjunction with the method of this invention.